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After Crisis, Most Water Is Safe to Drink

After four days of boiling water, more than 200,000 New Jersey residents who live in Jersey City and Hoboken found out yesterday that their tap water was safe. But tests showed that the tap water in Lyndhurst, a township of 18,000, may still contain high levels of bacteria.

''It's a big mess,'' said Annalisa Degennaro, 19, who lives in Lyndhurst and was buying water for her dog, Ginger, from store shelves that were nearly bare. ''Why spend money on water when we have water at home?''

The problem began Friday night when a storm knocked out power to the Jersey City Water Treatment Facility in Boonton, allowing untreated water to flow into the system.

Although the plant has a back-up generator, it has not worked for a year, said Rich Henning, a spokesman with United Water, a private company that began operating the plant in May under a contract with the city. The company has been working with the city, which still owns the plant, to replace the generator, Mr. Henning said, and is now accepting bids on the project.

The plant serves about 275,000 residents in Jersey City, Hoboken and Lyndhurst. While samples taken in Jersey City and Hoboken came back safe yesterday, said Elaine Maktura, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Environmental Protection, those taken from Lyndhurst pipes tested positive for coliform.

Although Ms. Maktura said coliform is not considered harmful, she said, ''It's an indicator we might find other things in the water.''

The power was out from 8 P.M. Friday to 10 A.M. Saturday, Mr. Henning said, and emergency crews began flushing out the contaminated water Saturday night. Water samples taken on Sunday tested positive for bacteria, he said, and the pipes were flushed again on Sunday night. It takes 24 hours to get results from the tests, he said, and samples taken on Monday showed the water was safe in two of the cities.

United Water operates the water systems in Jersey City and Hoboken, and Lyndhurst operates its own system of pipes, but receives water from the Jersey City plant.

Some Lyndhurst residents said the contamination was just one of many water problems in their town.

''Everybody is taking it in stride,'' said Rosemary DeNapoli, who has had to bring in buckets of water from a neighboring town to make the Italian ice she sells at the Lyndhurst Pastry Shop. At least water still flows from the faucet, she said, and it is not colored brown.

About a month ago, the water was brown, said Vita Sgroi, a resident. ''You'll call and they'll say they're working on a pipe. It's a pain in the neck.''

And at least one resident of the neighboring town of North Arlington was buying water yesterday. ''I don't know where my water comes from,'' said Marion Papadogonas. ''I'm playing it safe.''